No description available.

The purpose of the present study was to examine Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) and to expand the research based knowledge in the area. PAS entails both psychological processes and legal dimensions as it occurs primarily within the context of custody litigation. False allegations of abuse (FA) are commonly associated with PAS and similarly entail both psychological and legal issues. The research comprised two separate studies. First, interviews with target parents were conducted to attain their unique perceptions and experiences of PAS and on the way their cases were handled within the legal system. Second, a quantitative comparison between PAS and FA was performed to identify any similarities and differences and examine a possible relationship between the two. Results highlighted inherent difficulties for successful joint custody arrangements for PAS families as communication was difficult and litigation was prominent. In spite of well-established parent-child relationships before the divorce, these were negatively impacted with the onset of litigation. Parents and children were negatively impacted from the PAS, including reported mental illness for both. In FA cases the children were found to be significantly younger and from one-child families compared with PAS families. Women were found to more likely be the alienators or accusers of FA. In spite of having the legal authority to deal with the PAS, judges reportedly rarely utilized this power. The limitations of the research are discussed and direction for future study given.

This qualitative study examines alienated parents' perceptions of their own experience of Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS). The participants were five fathers and one mother. The data were collected via semi-structured, open-ended interview questionnaires. A qualitative analysis of the data was performed for each participant in an attempt to answer the following questions: (1) Are there characteristics (e.g., number of children, number of marriages, etc.) common to alienated families? (2) Are there common themes or issues among the conflicts between couples that contribute to marriage dissolution? (3) From the lost parent's perspective, are there commonalities in the underlying causes of the alienation? (4) Are there common themes in the participants' experience of the alienation process? (5) Given the opportunity what are some things that the lost parents perceive they might do differently? The findings are discussed and the limitations of the present study are given.

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Prior research has identified risk factors that may contribute to the development of maternal stress reactions following childbirth. Specifically, situational factors (e.g., factors associated with childbirth), individual factors, and personality factors, have been explored in a multitude of prior studies. The current study sought to build upon this literature by examining both risk and resilience in a sample of both mothers and fathers via a prospective longitudinal investigation. Baseline assessment of expectant parents occurred prior to the birth of their child, with additional assessment at approximately 1, 6, and 9 weeks post-childbirth. A total of 50 participants completed all four of these assessments. Results indicated approximately 20% (n = 10) of participants endorsed moderate or greater stress symptoms after birth, while 22% (n = 11) also exhibited symptoms of moderate or greater depressive symptoms. Stress reactions were assessed with the Perinatal Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Questionnaire (PPQ); validity analyses indicated the PPQ had significantly stronger correlations with convergent measures than discriminant measures. Additionally, participants were randomized into one of two post-delivery study arms: an expressive writing group or an active control group. Although expressive writing results were inconclusive, there was a general effect of time, which may be reflective of a natural recovery process. Given the prevalence of stress and depressive reactions in this sample, and the population, exploration into feasible and accessible treatment interventions is warranted. While these results also suggest a potential natural recovery for some participants, interventions for support in the short-term timeframe after childbirth may continue to be useful.

Eleven adolescents whose parents were separated or divorced were interviewed regarding their experiences. Emphasis was on their positive and negative experiences and their ways of coping with their problems. The interviews of these high school freshmen were systematically analyzed using Spradley’s ethnographic methodology. The 6 girls and 5 boys lived in maternal, paternal, and joint custody. Two of the adolescents had experienced death of a parent as well as divorce. The adolescents volunteered to participate in this study and were a non-clinical sample. Contrasts were drawn based on sex, age at the time of divorce, and availability of both parents to the adolescent. Differences in maturity and responsibilities followed sexually stereotyped patterns. Age at the time of divorce seemed to have little effect on their experiences. Availability of parents was important in providing continuity and stability. If the adolescent did not have access to both parents, other adults such as grandparents or other family members sometimes served a mediating function in the experiences of the family. An overriding theme for all of these adolescents was the need for stability and predictability in their families. Each had experienced losses of important major relationships and changes in family patterns. These losses threatened the stability needed. Their coping efforts involved ways to increase the stability and predictability in their lives. Many adolescents thought they were more mature as a result of their parents’ divorce. Some adolescents became closer to their families, assuming major household and childcare responsibilities. Others withdrew from family interaction and were very lonely. With stability in the family, these adolescents could focus on age-appropriate activities and continue developmental progress. / Ph. D. / incomplete_metadata

The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship which the thought patterns of parents have upon the ideas of the children in the present national and world emergency. Attention is also given to the background study of the present conflict, the attitudes that should prevail, and the stress that should be placed upon democracy.

(1) Problem: Research on internalizing problems in young children is scarce despite evidence that children can have problematic internalizing symptoms as early as preschool years 1-3. In preschoolers, it is difficult to observe internalizing problems directly. While they are not overtly socially disruptive behaviors4, they have negative consequences in their daily lives, can continue in adolescence, and potentially develop into disorders in later years 5-7. Studying internalizing problems in preschoolers is of particular importance in Low- and Middle- Income Countries (LIMC) since there may be a higher prevalence of common risk factors (such as parental psychopathology, violence, and neglect) than in High-Income Countries. According to the World Health Organization, in 2015, Brazil (a LMIC) ranked first in the past-year prevalence of anxiety (9.3%) and fifth in the prevalence of depression (5.8%) 8,9 in people aged 15 years or older. Preschoolers in São Paulo, Brazil, have an estimated six-month prevalence of internalizing problems of 25.4%. There are few estimates in other regions of Brazil, partly due to the lack of validated scales to measure them. In addition, it is unknown if the disparate rates by sex (females have at least twice the rates of males) seen in adolescence and adulthood could be detected at an early age. This dissertation's primary goal is to advance our understanding of internalizing problems in preschoolers in Brazil, a LMIC that is highly affected by psychopathology and associated disability. (2) Methods: First, a systematic literature review on the topic in LMIC was conducted. Second, data from the Preschool Mental Health Survey (the PreK Survey), with a representative sample (n=1,292) of preschoolers aged 4 to 5 years old and their caregivers in the city of Embu das Artes, São Paulo, was used to: (a) do Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) of the internalizing section of a worldwide known assessment tool for problem behaviors in preschoolers (the Child Behavioral Checklist CBCL 1.5-5); and (b) conduct multigroup CFA to examine differences by sex in the structure of internalizing problems. Finally, Generalized Linear Models for complex data were used to assess the risk of internalizing syndromes by parental depression, severe physical or verbal violence, and low-quality time with parents differentially by sex of the preschoolers. (3) Conclusions: From the literature review, a scarcity of research on internalizing problems of preschoolers was found in LMIC. Hence, (a) only a few risk factors, mainly parental psychopathology, have been explored in most LMIC; and (b) the large majority of studies in LMIC in the Americas use the CBCL 1.5-5 or other scales not validated for their study population. From the multigroup CFA, it was concluded that (a) the construct of internalizing problems in the CBCL 1.5-5 is valid in preschool boys and girls in São Paulo, Brazil, and in similar contexts, supporting previous and future studies on the topic; and (b) the main syndromes of internalization are "Anxiety/Depression" and "Emotionally Reactive." From the assessment of risk, it was concluded that (a) the main risk factor for internalizing problems in preschoolers in Brazil is parental depression; (b) externalizing problems are highly correlated with internalizing problems and are the main source of confounding; (c) there were no significant differences by sex in the prevalence of risky exposures, but they were all significantly associated with internalizing problems; (d) there were significant differences by sex in the mean scores of internalizing syndromes, and in the associations of risky exposures and internalizing problems, highlighting the need of a differential approach to primary prevention and treatment in preschool boys and girls.

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M.A. (Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract